Bennington joined Grey Daze when he was just 15 years old, Dowdell was 17. "He was all of 90 pounds soaking wet, had really tight curly hair and glasses. My pompous ass thought he looked nothing like the rockstar I thought he should look like when he walked in to audition for the band," the drummer reflected. "As soon as he opened his mouth, my jaw hit the floor and we became fast friends. He was amazing even at the age of 15 vocally, he could sing."

As incredible a singer Dowdell thought young Bennington was, he didn't necessarily think the vocalist would become such a renowned musician — at least not without the rest of Grey Daze. "I thought we would do it together. We played together for eight years, we put out three records and we thought we'd be mega rockstars together," the drummer admitted.

After years of playing smaller-scale shows and successfully selling records within their local markets in Arizona, Grey Daze broke up in 1998 for various reasons. Some of the members were starting families, some had problems with addiction and they ultimately ended up growing apart.

The upcoming album will include Grey Daze tracks that have been reworked around Bennington's vocals. Among some of the guests featured are the late frontman's son, Jamie, members of Korn and more.

"[I said] It would be cool to get some of the people that Chester loved and admired, and vice-versa — people who loved and admired Chester — to come and play on the record as kind of a tribute to him, because they didn't get to play with him while he was alive," Dowdell explained.

To hear more about Grey Daze's songwriting process with Bennington and other details surrounding the upcoming album, listen to the full interview above.